Contents
Chapter 13
Overview
A catastrophic, seemingly out-of-season storm batters Espalle, flooding districts and leaving many dead. Rumors link Fulvir and an Ispanthian boy to stolen lambs and the storm, drawing a violent mob to Fulvir’s estate. Amiel holds back Fulvir’s mixlings from bloodshed. Zhebrava draws all eyes seaward, revealing the wrecked goblin warship—the storm’s true target—dissolving the mob’s fury.
Summary
Galva shelters with Bellu and Dalgatha as a violent, unnatural storm lashes Espalle through the night. By morning, trees are down, streets are flooded, homes have collapsed, and bodies drift seaward. Rumors spread that an Ispanthian boy, seen with Fulvir, stole lambs for a rite and that Fulvir caused the storm.
At Fulvir’s wine estate, Amiel faces a desperate mob seeking payment and vengeance. Fulvir lies in an exhausted, nightmare-haunted sleep after working immense magic at the standing stones. Amiel, fearing a sack, considers unleashing Billix, the bull-men, and defective corvids, but tries to avert bloodshed.
Tension spikes when a lame man advances with a flail and archers ready shots. Billix moves to strike, yet Amiel checks him, wary of irreversible violence. Zhebrava, the hare-girl, urgently points to the sea, momentarily ignored by the crowd.
All turn to the cliffs and see a massive wreck with red sails smashed on the Widow’s Teeth, waters stained by goblin blood. The mob understands the storm’s purpose: the Lament of Avraparthi, killer of the Brawling Bear, has been destroyed. The revelation drains their fury, sparing the estate and confirming Fulvir’s devastating but decisive blow against the invaders.
Who Appears
- AmielNarrates the mob confrontation; restrains Billix and the mixlings; reveals Fulvir’s storm wrecked the goblin warship.
- GalvaShelters with corvids during the storm; surveys destruction and hears rumors linking Fulvir to the tempest.
- FulvirMolrovan arch-wizard; sleeps after summoning the storm; his magic destroys the Lament of Avraparthi.
- BillixBull-man foreman ready to defend the estate; stands down at Amiel’s order when the wreck is seen.
- ZhebravaHare-girl who alerts everyone to the wrecked goblin ship, defusing the mob’s hostility.
- NouvaAllows Galva to inspect storm damage in town.
- GurgutEnormous defective corvid, nearly unleashed during the standoff.
- BelluGalva’s corvid; she shelters with Bellu during the storm.
- DalgathaGalva’s corvid; calmed and comforted by Galva through the storm.